Beautifully round, slightly sweet, and perfectly herbaceous, these bakes provide a wonderfully summery scone for an alfresco teatime. Pair these delicious treats with homemade Raspberry-Orange Curd for the perfect topping.
Basil Scones
Serves: approximately 10
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1⁄4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold heavy whipping cream, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in basil.
- Add 1 cup cream to flour mixture, stirring until a dough begins to form. Working gently, bring mixture together in bowl with hands until a dough forms. (If dough won’t come together, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.)
- Turn out dough on to a lightly floured surface, and knead gently by patting dough and folding it in half until smooth, 3 to 5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to a 3⁄4-inch thickness. Using a fluted 2 1⁄4-inch round cutter dipped in flour, cut as many scones as possible from dough without twisting cutter, rerolling scraps as necessary. Place scones on prepared baking sheet. Freeze until firm, approximately 10 minutes.
- Brush tops of scones with remaining 1 tablespoon cream.
- Bake until edges of scones are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Raspberry-Orange Curd
Serves: approximately 1¼ cup
Fresh raspberries, orange zest, and orange juice combine in this fruity spread that is a delightful complement to our Basil Scones.
Ingredients
- 1 (6-ounce package) fresh raspberries
- 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons lightly packed fresh orange zest, divided
- 6 egg yolks, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 tablespoons butter, cubed and softened
- Red food coloring, optional
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, stir together raspberries, 1⁄4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon orange zest over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently and mashing berries, until slightly thickened. Push mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium heatproof bowl, pressing through as many solids as possible; discard solids left in sieve.
- In another medium heatproof bowl, whisk together egg yolks, orange juice, salt, remaining 1⁄4 cup sugar, remaining 1 teaspoon orange zest, and raspberry mixture until well combined. Set bowl over a pot of simmering water on medium-low heat. (Make sure bottom of bowl is not touching water.) Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and can coat the back of a spoon and until an instant- read thermometer registers 170° to 180°, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Press curd through another fine-mesh sieve into another medium heatproof bowl, discarding solids. Stir in butter, 1 to 2 cubes at a time, until each addition melts and is incorporated. Stir in enough red food coloring, if using, to achieve desired shade. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap, pressing wrap directly onto surface of curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold and set, at least 2 hours.
